Includes bibliographical references (p. 603-690) and index

Motherhood as a minefield -- A new view of mothers -- Underlying mysteries of development -- Unimaginable variation -- The variable environments of evolutionary relevance -- The Milky Way -- From here to maternity -- Family planning primate-style -- Three men and a baby -- The optimal number of fathers -- Who cared? -- Unnatural mothers -- Daughters or sons? It all depends -- Old tradeoffs, new contexts -- Born to attach -- Meeting the eyes of love -- "Secure from what?" or "Secure from whom?" -- Empowering the embryo -- Why be adorable? -- How to be "an infant worth rearing" -- A matter of fat -- On human bondage -- Alternate paths of development -- Devising better lullabies

The author draws on anthropology, history, literature, developmental psychology, and animal behavior to examine "the distinct biological and genetic elements that constitute maternal instinct" and to explain "why age-old tensions between the sexes persist and are being played out today in efforts to control women's reproductive choices."--Jacket

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